An SCC Initiation Model: Effects of Cold-Work in

Austenitic Stainless Steels in Light Water Reactor

Environment
Y. S. Garud1 , G. O. Ilevbare2
1

SIMRAND, LLC, San Jose, Californ ia, USA

Electric Power Research Institute, Palo A lto, Californ ia, USA
1
yogen@garud.com; 2 gilevbare@epri.co m

Abstract- The growing recognition of cold-work as an

accelerant in stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is well justified
because of its common or persistent impact as a key factor in
both the initiation and crack growth regimes. This recognition
is also a result of the presence of cold-work often noted in the
initial failures of several service components. The presence of
cold-work limited to surface layer has been often attributed to
the relatively early intiation of SCC. A component with bulk or
volumetric cold-work condition resulting from mechanical or
weld-related fabrication is also subject to a relatively higher
growth rate due to S CC. In addition to the accelearating effects
on S CC the cold-work increases the material strength and the
sequence of fabrication can significantly affect the residual
stress often related to the material strength as well. Therefore,
the impact of cold-work on the S CC degradation and useful
remaining life of such components needs to be assessed with
some technical basis and a quantitative framework that
account for the various influences of the cold-work.
The above aspects are reviewed in this paper focusing on
the non-precipitation-hardening stainless steels subject to the
reactor water environments. Also, the related field
observations and their significance in assessing the cold-work
impact are discussed. It is shown that the residual stress
including the strain-path and stress state, as well as the
material condition seem to dominate the operating influence of
cold-work on SCC. These factors are explicitly related to the
SCC susceptibility in a quantitative framework discussed in
this paper. The basis for inter-relation between the cold-work
effects and S CC is presented in relation to the model
parameters. Additional factors pertinent to the austenitic steels
include their susceptibility to sensitization and phase
transformation, particularly interacting with the presence and
sequence of cold-work. Observations from the surveyed
literature on these aspects are also discussed in relation to the
proposed model.
Keywords- Stress Corrosion; Cold-Work; Initiation Model;
Austenitic Stainless Steel; Stored Energy; Yield Strength

I. INT RODUCTION
It has been known for a long time that cold-work (CW)
affects the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) perfo rmance of
most metallic materials. The CW impact, which can
promote or mitigate the SCC, cuts across most practical
applications and alloys typically found in nuclear reactor
systems as well [13]. Also, it is generally recognized that
the adverse impact of CW in SCC is common or persistent
in both the initiation and crack growth phases. More
significantly, this accelerating effect is clear fro m several

service related failures, and its assessment becomes a

potentially critical issue for extended service well beyond
40 or 60 years. Both the surface layer limited cold-work and
the through-thickness condition need to be assessed for their
impact on the remain ing useful life o f many co mponents.
This includes mechanically-strained conditions due to weldshrinkage and cold-bent elbows or similar geo metries wh ich
result in volu metric effects of cold-working, as well as
grinding. As such, the control of fabrication, weld-repair,
and mitigation strategies need to address the cold-work
factor, preferably with some basis and quantitative approach.
This paper deals with the analytical and physical
(mechanistic) aspects of a proposed framework for assessing
the impact of CW on SCC response of normally ductile,
solution-strengthening type alloys in aqueous environments.
The nature of the role that CW plays in SCC can be
illustrated by the three-ring Venn diagram, Fig. 1, often
used to describe the SCC itself. The similarity is striking but
more significant is the fact that CW has a direct influence on
all three areas needed or responsible in the manifestation of
SCC. That is, CW affects a my riad o f physical properties
such as residual stresses, deformat ion response,
microstructure, strength, and oxidationcorrosion. This
mixed or co mplex role of CW in SCC was also thought to
be responsible [4] for o ft-quoted apparently confounding
nature [5, 6] or lack of treat ment [2] of th is important factor
in quantifying SCC i.e., because the term cold -work, even
if treated as a single variable, has mult itude of effects, not
all in one direction, on the SCC susceptibility. As a result, it
is clear that there is no single quantity (or parameter) that
can be labelled as THE cold-work factor for SCC
susceptibility. Indeed, the recently presented model [7, 8]
conforms to this notion and, even in its simplified fo rm,
identifies three factors somewhat parallel to these varied
influences of CW.
Thus it was proposed [4, 7, 8] that a useful
quantification of SCC should take into account the impact of
CW on (a) the effective stress, (b) the local corrosion
deformation interaction, and (c) the micro-cracking
tendency or propensity believed to be significant. Each of
these influences on SCC susceptibility, or t ime-to-init iation
of a short crack, was shown to be incorporated in three
primary parameters of the model (d iscussed in the
subsequent section), namely: a stress severity parameter
(S/Sy ), SCC-CW resistance factor (an ), and a micro-cracking

IJNESE Volu me 2, Issue 3 September 2012 PP. 79-87

- 79 -

resistance parameter (A). A lso, a useful measure of coldwork was introduced and correlated with simple material
strength properties and the strain-hardening behavior. The
measure of cold-work was used in defining the relat ive
SCC-CW resistance. The micro-cracking resistance
parameter was shown to correlate well with strength
properties. The stress severity parameter reflects residual
and applied stress relative to the cold-worked yield strength.
As a result, the quantitative framework demonstrated that
there is no single (mult iplicative or additive) factor that can
capture the impact of co ld-work on SCC and that the key
effects can be characterized with good correlation to the
likely physical manifestations of the CW.
STRESS
STRAIN RATE
STRENGTH

MECHANICS

CW

MICROSTRUCTURE
GRAIN SIZE
GB ORIENTATION
DISLOCATION DENSITY
SLIP Ch. (Stacking Fault)
VACANCIES

ELECTROCHEMISTRY
PASSIVITY
OXIDATION KINETICS

Fig. 1 Schematic of multiple physical effects of cold-work on SCC factors

[4]

The above model is summarized in this paper in the

context of its applicat ion to the SCC response of austenitic
stainless steels in light water reactor environment. A brief
update of a rev iew of the related observations [7] fro m inservice instances and laboratory tests is included
demonstrating the need and utility of this modeling work.
The init ial model development was based on similar data for
the CW effect in SCC of Ni-Cr-Fe Alloy 600 in high purity
or pressurized water reactor (PW R) primary water
environment [8]. Work presented here demonstrates that the
same framewo rk has the potential to quantify the
dependence of SCC on CW in the austenitic stainless steels.
Results of model application are presented with a discussion
of the underlying co mmon processes and certain aspects
more relevant to the stainless steels [7].
II. REVIEW OF FIELD AND LABORATORY OBSERVAT IONS
The following brief rev iew is to illustrate the
significance of cold work as a contributing factor to SCC
across varied environ mental conditions/applications in light
water reactors, particularly for the solute-strengthening type
austenitic stainless steels which cover a vast area of the
reactor coolant system pressure boundary. Since the early
days of SCC observations in boiling water reactor (BW R)
applications [9], it is generally well accepted that CW acts
as an accelerant for SCC in itiation and growth in the
oxidizing or high potential aqueous environment, even in

non-sensitized steels.
While the austenitic stainless steels in reactor coolant
system service have shown much greater resistance to SCC
in PW R environ ments compared with BW R, there have
been some instances of intergranular stress corrosion
cracking (IGSCC) in both the primary [3] and the secondary
systems of the PWRs [10]. These instances have been
generally shown to involve possible oxidizing conditions or
contaminants in an otherwise reducing environment.
However, high stress and/or cold-worked microstructure
appear as common factors in these cases, whether or not
high oxygen or contaminants are present or involved. The
survey [3] showed that 17% of the events in the primary
side in normal PWR water were attributed to heavy CW
only (with reported hardness generally above 300 Hv );
while the remainder 83% events were associated with
oxygen, and presence of chloride or sulfate contamination,
in addition to CW, where the impact of CW could not be
decoupled from the water chemistry influence.
For examp le, IGSCC of a cold -worked bolt head of
(non-stabilized) Type-316L steel was observed (after about
10 years operation) in the steam separator region of a PWR
steam generator [10], wh ile Ti-stabilized Type-316 without
CW did not show such cracking. Ho wever, the local
(crevice) condition was considered to be oxidizing. The Tistabilized Type-316 did show IGSCC at another location
PWR internals core barrel boltsin the cold-worked
microstructure within the high stress region of the bolt head,
although the possible role of contaminants was not ruled out
in these instances. Previously, Daret, et al. [11] reported that
many cases of SCC in austenitic steels in the PWR primary
circuit were observed (pre-1994) and attributed to excessive
CW or irradiation related hardening, often with cyclic loads.
Service failures where CW itself plays a critical
damaging ro le include both BWR and PW R austenitic
stainless steel components. For examp le, so me of the
IGSCC in itiation in PW R pressurizer heaters has been
attributed to the CW condition of 304L stainless steel [12],
with R&D results showing no crack growth below Vickers
hardness of about 310 [13]. In BWR, fo r instance, even for
the low-carbon or stabilized steel condition (i.e., very
minimal sensitization) the occurrence of IGSCC in the
reactor core shroud has been attributed to the effect of CW
[14]. Couvant, et al. [15] reported prior IGSCC in the PWR
pressurizer heater tubes of 316L grade stainless steel
observing that the few cases coincided with high CW and
stress fluctuations or strain localizat ion.
Examples of the accelerating effect of CW on SCC of
austenitic steels in BW R and PWR type environments tested
in laboratories are nu merous. Kaneshima, et al. [16]
reported definite susceptibility and enhancement due to CW
in the slow strain-rate tests in simu lated PWR primary water
environment in these steels. Crack g rowth acceleration due
to CW even in unsensitized 304 and 316L in lo w corrosion
potential (hydrogen water chemistry) range was reported in
laboratory tests [17]. Guerre, et al. [18] showed measurable
crack growth in cold -worked samples of Type 316L
stainless steel in laboratory under PWSCC mode, provided
the material was in a hardened state, suggesting the

IJNESE Volu me 2, Issue 3 September 2012 PP. 79-87

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importance of local mechanical properties in impart ing the

susceptibility. Takakura, et al. [19] reported IGSCC on
irradiated cold-wo rked (12% & 20% strained) Type-316
stainless steel tested under constant load in simulated
normal p rimary PWR water. Both the initiat ion time and the
threshold stress level were found to decrease with increasing
irradiation dose. These data also confirm the CW related
susceptibility of stainless steels in the typical reducing
conditions of PWR coolant. Couvant, et al. [20, 21] have
suggested that, based on their finite element analysis, the
enhancement of stress concentrations on grain boundaries
due to complex loading (strain) paths also offered support
for increased SCC initiat ion in austenitic stainless steels
under simulated primary water as observed in their
laboratory tests, while CW was expected to enhance
diffusion and consequently oxidation effects as well.
III. CW -SCC INITIATION MODEL

Here E is the Youngs modulus of elasticity, (a > 0, b <

0, and c < 0) are emp irical parameters, and n represents the
material work-hardening. Note that the strength ratio, r, is
greater than one, and it decreases with increasing cold work
level. The parameter k is used as a normalizing constant to
represent the initially un-deformed, fu lly annealed condition;
and the lowest value for m is taken equal to one. Although
the modulus of elasticity is used here mainly for nondimensional purposes, the ratio (Sy /E) represents an average
elastic strain at yield and Sy (Sy /E) can be viewed to
represent (twice) the elastic strain energy at y ield. The (r1)
term relates primarily to the work-hardening response. The
choice of using strength properties in the above relat ion was
primarily fo r engineering reason that these properties are
more readily available or estimated in a g iven application.
B. Simplified Model

In this work the term in itiation is used in the

engineering sense to denote the development of a singly
dominating crack of engineering significance. Fro m the
model develop ment and application point of view the
definit ion of init iation can be made more exp licit with the
following considerations: (a) the imp lied depth is of the
order of 0.4 mm to 2 mm, primarily depending on the part
geometry: thickness and notch if present; (b) this range
corresponds to an average crack growth rate uncertainty
factor of about 2 which is reasonably low for the SCC
phenomenon; (c) formulat ion validity is expected for other
depths (down to a few grains) with simple, appropriate
scaling of the model estimate; and (d) this defin ition is in
the spirit of the well known Coffin-Manson rule for fatigue
life and Sect ion III of the ASM E Bo iler & Pressure Vessel
Code. With these exp licit considerations, it is expected that
the term init iation is not as limiting or nebulous as might
appear at first, and its valid ity and practical significance
remain high, especially in dealing with the occurrence of
SCC starting with a practically smooth or nominally defectfree as-built co mponent condition.
A. Cold Work Measure
A new measure of cold-work, m, is introduced to enable
quantification of CW-SCC effect capturing the primary
influence applicable to, or described by, different ways of
introducing and labelling the cold work in general. It
takes into account changes in the yield and tensile strength
as a function of cold work, reflecting the strain-hardening
influence [8]. It is defined by the relation 1 :
m = (Sy , Su , n) = k(Sy /E)a (r 1)b (r)c

S y = tensile yield strength.

(1)

where,

The simplified model for t ime to init iation of a small

crack, ti , is then exp ressed as:
ti = ( S, T, p H, ) = an e ln [A/(S/Sy )]

(2)

where,
a n = (normalized) SCC cold-work resistance factor, primarily
material (alloy) dependent;
e= material/environ ment factor including the Arrhenius
dependence on temperature, T
A = material/stress (or micro-cracking) resistance parameter
of the model;
S = effective tensile stress, including residual stress
S/S y = stress severity.
It should be noted that the three major parameters of the
model are labelled to reflect their expected primary
influence on the SCC response, namely : the stress severity
parameter (S/S y), the SCC-CW resistance factor (a n ), and the
micro -cracking resistance parameter (A). These are not
necessarily independent, in that, they are all influenced by
the cold-work. Also, the combination of an and e relates
mainly to the effective interaction of the local deformation
and environment, where e accounts for the non-cold-work
related environmental variables such as the solution pH,
conductivity, corrosion potential, and temperature.
C. Low-Stress Response Modification
The form of SCC in itiation function itself, Eq. (2), was
derived fro m the results of strain-rate damage model
(SRDM ) [22] that has a more fundamental basis in that it
relates SCC damage evolution to the interaction between the
local electrochemical conditions and the material

r = strength ratio = Su /Sy;

S u = ultimate tensile strength 2 ;
1
In the following description, all modeling relations are first
expressed in a general form, using ( ) for the generic dependence,
followed by a specific expression used in this work.
2
Note that the values of material strength (Sy and Su) used
throughout this work as correlating parameters are for the actual,

in-situ condition (i.e., either un-deformed, or cold-worked, or

heat-treated, as the case may be) at normal room temperature. The
choice of room temperature is for convenience of analysis and
application, as the applicable high temperature strengths are often
not determined or not readily available. Since these are generally
well correlated, the choice is considered to be without loss of
generality if the consistency is maintained in data assessment,
model parameter determination, and model application.

IJNESE Volu me 2, Issue 3 September 2012 PP. 79-87

- 81 -

deformation (strain-rate). This required the exp licit use of a

material constitutive relation and so the SRDM results were
obtained for stress levels not much below the material yield
strength. Therefore, Eq. (2) was not expected to be
applicable well belo w the yield stress level. Also, there is a
general expectation that near some very low stress the
initiat ion time can rapidly increase to a very large value.
These issues were addressed by the following mod ification
of Eq. (2):
ti = an eln [A]ln [(Az)/ (S/Sy z)] / ln [(Az)/(1 z)]

an = 1/ mq
A= vexp [wr]
z = z1 + z2 ln [r]
where, q, v, w, z1 , and z2 are empirical parameters. Note that
all the model factors or parameters are non-dimensional,
except for e that has the dimension of time.
IV.

DATA AND MODEL RESULT S

(3)
A. Test Conditions and Data

where
z= Sth /Sy : threshold stress model parameter;
Sth = threshold stress estimate.
Note that for z=0, the above t i is identical to the
initiat ion function of Eq. (2). Clearly, the expected lack of
data for very lo w stress severity values makes the use of
engineering judgment necessary in determin ing this
threshold stress factor (z), although the above provided an
adequate modeling structure for this purpose.
The above formu lation fu lly describes, and is referred to
in the following, as the CW-SCC in itiat ion model. SCC
under the minimal o r non-cold wo rk condition is a part icular
case of this model. Fro m the point of view of generating
useful information about the model parameters the case of
stress-severity equal to one should be of particular interest.
As noted earlier, fo r a given materialenviron ment
combination, all factors (an , A, z, and S/Sy ) except e, are
affected by the level of cold work. Th is emp irical
observation was used to examine further correlat ions for
these factors in terms of the strength properties as affected
by the cold work. This examination was done for the case of
Alloy 600 SCC in simulated primary water and high-purity
water [8] which resulted in the following correlat ions as
useful estimators for the three factors (an , A, z).
For an , the following simp le power-law relat ion was
found to correlate well with the Alloy 600 SCC data: an =
(m) = a1 /mq , where q is an emp irical parameter of the
model. The normalized value of 1 for an may be taken to
represent an init ially un-deformed, fully annealed condition,
so that for m=1, a1 in the above relat ion is also 1. The
overall dependence can be obtained from t ime-to-init iation
data at various cold-work levels. Therefore, without loss of
generality, an is taken equal to 1/ mq in this work.
An earlier evaluation of SRDM response [22] suggested
that the factor A was likely to be less dependent on
temperature and environ mental conditions, and its variation
was likely to be dependent on strength properties. The
evaluation of above CW-SCC model versus the SCC data on
Alloy 600 [8] showed a strong correlation between A and
the strength ratio r, suggesting an exponential dependence
to be adequate. The same evaluation also suggested a simple
logarith mic correlation between the stress threshold factor, z,
and the strength ratio. In summary, the following
correlations were found to be suitable to represent the SCC
data on Alloy 600 with the above CW-SCC in itiation model:

The application of above CW-SCC model for the

observed SCC response under cold-work condition of an
austenitic type stainless steel is demonstrated here with the
use of data reported by Pickett and Sim [23]. It was one of
the earliest comprehensive studies undertaken to determine
the effects of applied stress and cold-work on IGSCC of
sensitized and non-sensitized Type-304 stainless steel in the
simu lated BW R coolant with 0.2 ppm dissolved oxygen.
The water was circulated through test vessels (made of
Type-347 stainless steel) and maintained at 282C, with
conductivity of 1.5 to 3.0 S/cm and chloride content of
about 0.5 ppm. The test vessels allowed multip le specimens
to be tested under constant loadthe system recently
described as the Keno autoclave loading machine [24].
The time-to-failure for each specimen was indicated by
matching surges in pressure recordings.
The test specimens were made fro m 5/ 8-inch plate of
Type-304 stainless steel with chemical co mposition of (%
wt): C (0.057), Mn (1.57), N (0.08), Cr (18.8), Ni (8.9), Si
(0.42), Mo (0.43), Cu (0.22), P (0.029), and S (0.016). The
plate was solution-annealed at 1065C (ASTM grain size
number 3.5). The specimens were machined after coldrolling the plates to 5%, 8%, and 20% thickness reductions.
Some specimens were heat treated for sensitization at 621C
for 24 hours, followed by furnace cooling. Note that all nonsensitized samples, with any level of cold-work, survived
the 10,000-hour test period limit used to stop further
exposure. Therefore, the following analysis and results deal
primarily with the sensitized material condition used in the
above tests.
Table 1 summarizes the SCC test conditions which
covered up to four stress levels for each of the four coldwork condit ions described above. Three specimens were
tested for each co mb ination of the cold-work and applied
initial stress. The observed time-to-failu re values are listed,
with 10,000 hours or a + symbol in Tab le 1 indicating the
maximu m test duration (run-off).
Data fro m their mechanical (non-SCC) tensile tests were
used here to estimate the roo m temperature yield and
ultimate strength values for the sensitized material condition.
For the 0, 5, 8, and 20% cold -work conditions the estimated
yield strengths were 274, 403, 449, and 601 MPa,
respectively; and the ultimate strengths were 631, 669, 689,
and 793 MPa, respectively. The resulting stress severities
estimated for various tests are listed for reference in the
additional colu mn of S/Sy in Table 1.

IJNESE Volu me 2, Issue 3 September 2012 PP. 79-87

- 82 -

CW (%)

S (MPa)

S/Sy

Tf1 (hrs)

Tf2 (hrs)

Tf3 (hrs)

153.1

0.558

7000+

10000+

10000+

193.1

0.704

9608

10000+

10000+

248.2

0.905

794

1913

2936

302.7

1.104

296

1518

2011

248.2

0.616

2769

4125

10000+

302.7

0.751

1590

1696

1746

386.1

0.958

291

582

1068

302.7

0.673

8600+

9927

10000+

386.1

0.859

767

1032

1642

475.7

1.058

486

648

815

20

475.7

0.792

1217

1812

3335

20

577.1

0.961

602

631

1969

B. Model Parameters
Since one of the goals of this wo rk was to assess the
validity or extension of the same basic model (fro m the
Alloy 600 work [8]) to the case of IGSCC in austenitic
steels, it was thought essential to keep the model the same
except for the values of model parameters. Co mpared to the
mu ltip le and wider sets of data availab le for the A lloy 600
IGSCC used in developing the described model, the above
single set is limited to one heat of material and one source
of data. Therefore, the effective approach here was to use
the Alloy 600 model parameters as a guide, keeping any
deviations to a min imu m, and perform a constrained
optimization to best fit all of the data given in Table 1 in
determining the new model parameters for the case of
stainless steel in the test environment.
The annealed material condition of Type 304 stainless
steel was represented with E = 206,000 M Pa and k = 10
based on a review of the expected range of mechanical
properties for the stainless steel application. The likely
variation of modulus of elasticity with cold work is assumed
to be negligible in this work. The values for emp irical
parameters (a, b, and c) to quantify the co ld-wo rk measure
(m) were 0.25, 0.75, and 0.25, respectively, as used in the
case of Alloy 600 based on an engineering judgment
concerning the material strain-hardening response. The
optimization process resulted in the following values for the
model parameters, using the same correlating functions
described above for Alloy 600, by effectively minimizing
the deviation of log-mean life between the overall model
and the data: q = 0.175, v = 0.9, w = 0.166, z1 = 0.4, and z2
= 0.16; also, the resulting non-cold-work-related factor e
for the environmental conditions of this data set was
estimated to be 257 days. With these parameters the model
estimates for time-to-failure were determined for all tests of
Table 1 and the results are described below.
C. Model Results vs. Data
As noted above, the CW-SCC model includes the case

of non-cold work condit ion as a particular case; therefore it

is of interest to compare the model response with data for
this condition. This comparison is shown in Fig. 2 where the
stress severity dependence of the mean-log time-to-failure
data for samples with zero imposed cold-work is co mpared
with the model estimates. Note that the model curve in Fig.
2 is not a best-fit to the data points shown; it is the estimate
obtained from the overall optimized model based on all of
the data including those at other cold work and stress levels
(in Table 1). As such, the good fit exh ibited in Fig. 2
confirms at least the internal consistency of the derived
model, and that the model response is in good agreement
with the overall stress severity dependence over the range of
SCC in itiation life including the likely threshold region.
1.6
Simplified Model (Eq. 2)

Stress Severity (S/Sy)

TABLE I TEST PARAMETERS AND FAILURE TIMES FROM THE CONSTANT LOAD
TESTING OF SENSITIZED TYP E 304 STAINLESS STEEL IN SIMULATED BWR
WATER [23] (SEE TEXT FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS)

1.4

Model with Threshold (Eq. 3)

1.2

DATA: Furnace Sensitized Type 304SS

(0.2 ppm Oxygenated Water at 282 C)

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
10

100
SCC Initiation Time (Days)

1000

Fig. 2 Model comparison with data for IGSCC failure time under constant
load tests of sensitized Type 304 stainless steel in simulated BWR water,
for non-cold-worked condition

The observed influence of stress under various levels of

cold work is shown in Fig. 3, where the numerical label
along each bar indicates the stress severity imposed under
each of the tested CW condition. For this data set, the trend
shows that for any specific CW condition the lower the
stress severity the longer is in itiat ion life. The model
estimates are co mpared (solid sy mbols in Fig. 3) with the
observed data medians and ranges under each of the tested
CW conditions, which show the same trend with respect to
the stress severity as well as the level of co ld work in good
agreement with the data. The scatter band on estimated life
is shown in Fig. 4, co mparing it with the scatter observed in
these tests.
This comparison shows most data are within about a
factor of two on the model estimated life. Note that the
factor of two is on the life; this factor for SCC (as in fatigue
life) is well within the expected variability that is in general
several times greater for the crack in itiat ion time (as for the
crack g rowth kinetics). The systematic trend in data scatter
(i.e., fro m lo w to high sets in observed life) relative to the
perfect prediction line (Fig. 4) shows a reasonable
confirmat ion of the goodness-of-fit of the model, given the
limited number of tests and the expected variability in
material properties and in the SCC kinetics.

IJNESE Volu me 2, Issue 3 September 2012 PP. 79-87

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SCC INITIATION TIME (Hours)

100000
Low Data
High Data
Central Data
MODEL BEST-FIT
0.558

10000

0.704

0.616
0.673

0.751

0.905

0.792

0.859
0.958

1000

1.104

0.961

interaction. This significance is expanded upon first in the

following discussion [4, 7], providing a basis for such a
choice. This is followed by a brief discussion of
sensitization, stacking fault energy (SFE), orientation effects,
etc. and their assessment in CW-SCC modeling framework
presented above. It is also useful to note that, in addition to
being the limiting states for the material deformat ion, the
yield and ult imate strengths are well defined as material
properties, unlike hardness.

1.058

A. CW, Defects, and Oxidation

100
0

20

20

COLD WORK LEVEL (%)

Fig. 3 Model comparison with data for IGSCC failure time under constant
load tests of sensitized Type 304 stainless steel in simulated BWR water,
for various cold-work conditions
100000

OBSERVED INITIATION TIME (Hours)

SCC OF T304 SS IN BWR CONDITIONS,

INCLUDING COLD WORK EFFECTS

10000

1000
Low Observation
Mid Observation
High Observation

100
100

1000
10000
INITIATION TIME BY MODEL (Hours)

100000

Fig. 4 Goodness-of-fit for CW-SCC initiation life model in comparison

with data and observed scatter

V.

DISCUSSION

As noted earlier, the modeling framework recognizes

that cold work is a process that affects many material factors
with varied influences on the SCC response, and cannot be
adequately represented as a single model factor (or
parameter) in defining a quantitative relation between its
impact on the material and its SCC susceptibility. Thus,
there are three main factors in the susceptibility model, Eq.
3, wh ich are affected by the cold work: A, an , and S/ Sy , in
addition to the threshold stress parameter, z. These in turn
have been correlated or expressed in terms of the strainhardened material properties, mainly the yield and ultimate
strengths. These properties represent the limit ing states of
the material deformat ion response. For a given material or
an alloy, there is a strong correlat ion between these
properties and the percent elongation as well as the material
strain hardening. Therefore, to a first approximation, no
need is indicated in the current work to add more explicit
consideration other than the use of two strength properties.
One more model factor, e, defines the material
environment in fluence on SCC susceptibility to account for
variables of temperature, p H, etc., independent of cold work.
The emphasis in this work on the strength (strain
hardening) properties and microstructural character is a
natural consequence of their significance in the CW-SCC

The immediate man ifestation of cold working a metal

piece is the introduction of microstructural deformat ion and
thus defects and consequential microstructural changes.
These include elongation of grains (acco mpanied by an
increase in g rain boundary surface per unit volu me), reorientation of grains (texture) relat ive to the direction of
working, increase in dislocation density and sub-structures,
increase in sub-grains (or blocks), vacancies, etc. What is
important to note here is that it is the interaction with these
cold-work induced defects and microstructural changes that
influences the character and kinetics of the basic processes
responsible for SCC: namely the deformat ion response and
the (grain boundary) passivation response, notwithstanding
the diffusion and adsorption within the grain boundary
structures. The resulting greater strain localizat ion and
increased strength both are expected to contribute to the
increase in SCC susceptibility whether film rupture or
hydrogen interaction is involved.
Increased number of vacancies is likely to enhance the
CW effect on SCC. For example, especially under the
tensile stress, vacancy mig ration and accumulation
preferentially in the direction of tensile stress at interfaces
across which the tensile stress is acting can increase the
propensity to interface separation (and/or diffusion of
species involved in the SCC). This effect will be even more
pronounced at higher temperature and lower strain rate [25]
known to accelerate SCC.
Effect of cold-work on the passivation response of Type
304 stainless steel in sulfate med ia was recently examined
by Barbucci, et al. [26] with the observation that The
higher passive currents and increased susceptibility
explained by the formation of much more defective o xide
related to the formation of defects in the grains and of more
defective interfaces both resulting fro m the accumu lation
of internal stresses due to cold-rolling. Other studies have
also shown that the CW has more pronounced (detrimental)
effect in the passive region than in the peak act ive
polarization region. A lso, it is interesting to note a recent
observation of some selective (internal) o xidation taking
place in the proximity of a crack front where protruding
finger-like o xides were determined to be present along
certain slip planes (intersecting the grain boundaries) [27].
This was for a sensitized condition with cold worked sample
of 304 stainless steel exposed to hydrogenated high-purity
water (reducing condition) indicative of the possible role of
defective/susceptible interfaces enhancing the diffusion
process due to cold work.

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B. CW, Stored Energy, & Strength

C. CW, Sensitization, and SFE

Also it is significant to note that a small but measurable

part of the energy of cold working a material is retained
within the resulting microstructure well after the working is
fin ished. This is often referred to as the stored energy, and it
is also a reflection, or a measure, of the above noted
defects/interfaces generation. This energy must play a role
in the local deformation and fracture response, especially as
a driv ing force for certain mechanis m(s), since when
facilitated (by the mechanis m) the stored energy is released
(i.e., it is made available to aid the mechanis m lo wering the
system energy, thereby reducing the work required for
producing new interface area). Note that any attempt to
relate the overall increase in stored energy, even if
accurately measured, either to the thermodynamic quantities
or directly to the SCC susceptibility itself will remain
inadequate. This is mainly due to the fact that it is the local
(spatial) distribution of the stored energy that is expected to
play the significant role in relation to SCC, mo re so than the
overall increase (e.g., it cannot be estimated simply fro m the
raised electrochemical potential based on an average value).
The stored energy is also expected to help maintain the
crack-t ip sharpening, in part by providing an immed iate
local source of free energy, with associated increase in
strain hardening and reduction in micro-fracture toughness
enhancing the local micro-cracking tendency over plasticity.
These effects of CW are significant contributors to the
resulting increase in SCC susceptibility. While the stored
energy of CW is difficult to measure or quantify it also has
been correlated with the increased level of flo w strength.

It is well known that material sensitization (Cr-deplet ion

near grain boundaries) is a significant factor in the IGSCC
of austenitic stainless steels. This may require additional
consideration when assessing the role of cold work,
especially with regard to the fabrication sequence. One
reason for expecting some sequence effect is that in the case
of sensitizing treat ment after cold work, especially high
level of cold work, the microstructure will provide more
carbide precip itation sites throughout the matrix along with
higher diffusivity due to the dislocations and vacancy
distributions. That is, for highly co ld worked material the
effect of (subsequent) grain boundary sensitization (on
adjacent Cr-deplet ion) will likely be less severe. At the
same time, some recovery of the micro-stresses from heavy
cold-work will contribute to a reduction of the SCC
susceptibility depending on parameters of the sensitization
treatment. It also imp lies that not considering this effect
may lead to potentially misleading co mparison between
SCC resistance of sensitized non-cold-worked condition and
sensitized cold-worked condition. For similar reasons, it is
likely that the beneficial effect of a deliberate cold-work
process may be not as much in Type 304L as in Type 304
stainless steel. Although not discussed here in detail, the
interactive effects of martensitic structures, cold work, and
sensitization may add to complication in the assessment
(e.g., [29]). It seems important to perform crit ical tests and
establish relative significance of these effects by comparing
sensitivity to related model parameters. Currently there is
need for more data that would enable further assessment of
these interactive effects in the austenitic steels.

In the above context it is important to note the closer

connection of the strength properties, rather than the
straining level, of the cold-wo rk and the microstructural
changes of SCC-significance. This is best exemp lified by
the work of Taylo r and Quinney [28] leading to their
conclusion: The fact that the absorption of latent energy
and increase in strength both cease when the same amount
of cold work has been applied suggests that the strength of
pure metals may depend only on the amount of cold work
which is latent in them. Additional significance of their
critical experimental work is that it showed the importance
of increased strength, as a measure of the stored of energy,
to be the factor to represent cold-work mo re so than the
level of p lastic strain itself. That is, as they demonstrated by
comparing torsion versus tension pre-straining, large plastic
strain (in torsion) could be realized without the attendant
(further) increase in the actual cold-work character of the
material, conco mitant with the peak in the strength level.
It follows fro m the above assessment that, to a first
approximation and fo r engineering purposes, it is sufficient
to use the material strength and strain-hardening parameters
as the key variables to quantitatively relate the level of CW
to SCC susceptibility. Th is is notwithstanding possible
deformation mode differences, as in the case of irrad iation
hardening, which may be mo re directly related to the other
model parameters. It also imp lies that the material
constitutive relation is incorporated mo re d irectly into the
assessment. This is the basis used in developing the above
SCC susceptibility model to quantify the role of co ld-wo rk.

The stacking-fault energy (SFE) is another factor likely

to be significant both in influencing the SCC response with
CW and in model parameter correlation. Th is is primarily
due to the expected influence of SFE on the character of
dislocation structure and the resulting slip distribution, in
turn affecting the local film rupture frequency as well as the
repassivation response (e.g., [30]). In addition, it is thought
that the micro-cracking tendency will be influenced by the
SFE. These different influences are related primarily to two
separate parameters of the model (A and an ). Again, not all
such differing influences are expected to be in one direction
or independent of other factors, but strain localization and
strain-hardening seem important here as well (e.g., [31]).
D. Additional Comments
It is interesting to note that a recent assessment of SCC
[32] supports the basis that the yield strength (increase due
to CW) has a do minating influence in the SCC occurrence
and kinetics, for Ni-base and the austenitic stainless steels.
Thus, it would appear that, while there are several
contributory or correlating factors (sensitization, SFE, etc.)
still to be quantitatively well understood in the case of
typical austenitic steels, perhaps the net predominant effect
of cold work on SCC is well represented by the mechanical
(strain hardening) properties and that the adopted modeling
framework is a good start for its fu rther application
development. Also, the three parameters (a, b, c) used in
quantifying the cold-work (Eq. 1), wh ile emp irical in the

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overall SCC initiat ion model described above, are meant to

represent the state of microstructure resulting fro m the
process of cold-work; i.e., in princip le, these may depend on
the type and processing of the cold-work wh ich may not be
fully captured by the strength properties alone however,
such dependence is considered to be of secondary influence,
and are treated in this work as fixed for a g iven alloy.

justification for emphasizing the microstructural and

strength properties in this modeling framework was
presented in relation to the key mechanistic aspects of the
varied influences cold work is likely to have on the
underlying SCC factors or processes.

The modeling described in this work d id not exp licitly

address the anisotropy or directionality of p roperties due to
CW, or the Bauschinger effect due to relative d irectionality
between the cold work and applied loading. The described
development considered that these effects are conservatively
included in the manner in wh ich the data and application
inputs are generated or used. The underlying formu lation
and use of material strain-hardening characteristics (to
quantify the cold work influence) remain the same, except
that a more general (mult i-axial) stress and strength model
extension should be used to address these details.

This work was supported by the Electric Po wer

Research Institute (Palo Alto, CA, USA). The interest and
support from Dr. R. Pathania and Dr. G. Ilevbare of EPRI
are acknowledged. Feedback on the init ial draft o f this paper
provided by Dr. T. Couvant of EdF (France) is appreciated.

The geometrically necessary changes (grain boundary

angles, shortening of relatively higher resistance grain
boundary surfaces, and lengthening of grain boundary paths
of lo wered resistance) as well as the orientation of h igher
energy boundaries (relative to the loading direct ion) all
contribute to the increased susceptibility that is now subject
to a greater variation after the cold working. The statistical
nature of these combined variat ions should also result in the
increased likelihood of wide variation in SCC susceptibility
between the orientations. It is suggested that these aspects
be further examined for integration in the pred ictive model.
VI.

CONCLUSION

An engineering model was presented for assessing key

influences of cold-work in SCC of austenitic stainless steels
in light water reactor environments. The model incorporates
a useful measure of cold work relating the material strength
and strain hardening properties. This measure was related to
the SCC susceptibility in a formu lation derived previously
fro m the strain-rate damage model. In particu lar, the
interactive and inter-dependent influence of stress, strength,
strain-hardening, and cold work on SCC was quantified.
The model as described is the same as developed for the Nibase Alloy 600 in PWR environ ment [8], but with
parameters derived for the case of Type-304 stainless steel
in a BW R type environment. Good quantitative agreement
with data was shown for the dependency of SCC init iation
in relation to both the degree of cold work and the applied
stress. This model extension and its results are encouraging
in considering its general applicability. One expected
benefit of this wo rk is the development o f a simp lified yet
general engineering framework to help quantify the effects
of cold work on ran king of material heats or components,
and on the assessment of various mitigation techniques by
taking into account their impact on the appropriate model
factors influencing the SCC response.
Also, the role of cold work in SCC of austenitic stainless
steels under reactor water conditions was reviewed with
service performance and related laboratory observations
demonstrating the need and utility of the presented
modeling work fro m a practical perspective. A detailed

ACKNOW LEDGM ENT

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Y. S . Garud earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from

Stanford University, California, USA, in 1981. He received M .
Tech. in 1974 and B. Tech. in 1972 in mechanical engineering
from the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay, India.
He is the Director of Engineering & Research at SIM RAND,
LLC in San Jose, California, since 2010. He worked as a Senior
Engineer for 15 years at APTECH Engineering and prior to that as
an Associate and Engineering Consultant for 14 years with S. Levy,
Inc. in USA. His research interests include life prediction and
resolution of issues in metal fatigue, plasticity, and stress corrosion,
and application of probabilistic methods in designanalysis.
Dr. Garud is a member of the American Society of M echanical
Engineers (A SM E), NY, USA, and the NACE International
Society, TX, USA.
G. O. Ilevbare earned his PhD in M aterials Science and
M etallurgy from University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England in
1996. He received B.Sc. in Industrial Chemistry from the
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria in 1991.
He is currently a Senior Project M anager at the Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, California, USA. Prior to
EPRI, he worked in senior positions in Integrated Science
Solutions (ISSI) Inc. and Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratories, both in California. His current focus includes
materials degradation issues related to nuclear power reactor
components. His research interests include modeling, stress
corrosion, environmentally assisted fatigue, mitigation methods,
and new materials development.
Dr. Ilevbare is a member of the NACE International Society,
TX, USA, and the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Cambridge,
England.

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